Entries tagged with “Security”.

When launching a new business it is vital to ensure you have the appropriate setup of payment processor and online payment gateways queued to receive an influx of customers.

Below are several tips to follow when looking for, and comparing who your payment processor provider should be:

Security

What is more important than your small business being able to process credit card payments securely? Not much. Will the payment processing company you are considering be able to protect the most sensitive information from your customers? Does the company have the required software to protect your customers and the company from fraud?

If your small business allows financial transactions that are unprotected, you could face outstanding penalties and fees. These penalties can be quite costly for your business, not only now, but in the future as well.

Penalties, Rates, Fees

Speaking of fees, you need to consider the rates and fees of the payment processing company that you are considering. You can use the company’s websites, evaluation charts, and reviews to find out what kind of rates and fees you will be charged. You do not want to make the mistake of not checking the contract thoroughly before signing it.

Customer Service

When you speak to potential payment processing companies about their services, rates, and fees you will gain an understanding of how their customer service will be. If you have a problem, you will need a reliable customer support team to help you when you need it.

If you are looking for a reliable payment processing service with affordable rates, reliable customer service, and high-quality security, contact us for additional information.

The high-profile corporations have definitely seen their share of the headlines on television, in newspapers, and in magazines regarding credit card and customer fraud. However, as much as small businesses have endured schemes, scams, and frauds, they are not always profiled or talked about in the news. These crimes have major impacts on small businesses, and the end results can be devastating.

Fraud prevention for small businesses should be discussed so employees, customers, vendors, and suppliers will feel educated on how to recognize potentially fraudulent activities. Fraud prevention plans should be implemented in every business, and you should consider the following:

- Work with your employees to train them on a monthly basis to prevent fraud

You have to monitor your small business credit report, your financial accounts, your credit accounts, and other documents. When you are actively monitoring these documents, you are ensuring that fraud will be detected. Look through all of your transactions to be sure that you will not see anything out of the ordinary. Your business may have online credit card activity; if so you should pay attention to the purchase history of your customers. If you notice a particular customer, and you think the velocity of charges and the purchase history seem odd, then you may want to monitor this situation for fraud.

Preventive measures are available to help your business feel safe and secure; these measures and resources are also effective. Contact us on ways to help protect your business

Fraud prevention has the potential to be one of the most cost-effective investments your company makes. To calculate your ROI, however, you need to understand the opportunity cost associated with fraud prevention.

A recent Yahoo Finance article reports on how much UK businesses lost due to fraud. Here are two of the most important figures:

- The average amount of money lost was $4,000

- 1% of SMBs lost more than $15,500

The article also explains that all businesses, whether small or large, can be impacted by fraud. We often say that small businesses are at a greater risk of fraud since hackers know they don’t have sufficient resources to invest in fraud prevention. Hacking small businesses isn’t as fruitful as hacking banks, but it’s easier to infiltrate unprotected technology systems that small businesses often use.

A cost-effective way to practice fraud prevention and protect your business is to use encrypted state-of-the art payment processors. These add an additional layer of security when your clients pay with credit cards. Moreover, you get to track payments in case someone tries to scam your business. The important thing is that you choose a payment processor which fits your company’s needs. There are tons of payment processors out there, and they all vary in terms of features and functions.

We recommend taking your time and researching a few payment processors until you’re completely satisfied with one. Feel free to reach out to if you have any questions about technical specifications.

It is important to consider the goods you sell and if they could be fraudulently returned. Items that have been used, such as computer hardware, or gift cards, can be used and sometimes returned with the intent on fooling the sales associates. To protect yourself from any adverse situation, it is important to track the sale of each item using serial numbers and bookkeeping.

Addresses that your customers give you should be examined. A simple system that checks for address validity could be added to your website. If customers are hiding their real address, it is very possible fraud will occur.

Chargebacks are inevitable but not the end of the world. Some businesses simply budget for a few chargebacks a year, depending on how many goods they sell. However, using a payment processor can often give you insurance for a certain number of chargebacks, so you do not have to worry.

Be wary of potential partners. Scammers like to target small businesses thinking that they are easy prey. If you receive an e-mail or letter about a business proposition that sounds too good to be true, avoid it. Contacting businesses that you want to partner with proactively is a better strategy.

Feel free to contact us if you want more fraud prevention tips. Fraud is a concern for every business and could result in a major detriment to your business if you don’t take the necessary precautionary steps.

Finding the right payment processor can certainly be a daunting and overwhelming task. Every provider will have different guidelines, contracts, and fees. Since these things are all different, it is important that you understand all the subtle differences so you will make the right decision.

It is always a good idea to set aside some time to compare all of the payment processors before you make a critical decision and choose one. When you think about it, the payment processor that you choose can determine the amount of revenue that you will bring in. Before you implement a payment processor or switch from your old one, here are some questions that you want to keep in mind when comparing payment processors.

What Kind Of Rates Do You Have?

Sometimes there are different charges, rates, and fees for different cards. Some customers will have their rewards cards, their business credit cards/debit cards, their personal credit/debit cards, and other cards. You should know what type of fees you will have to pay for every transaction.

Do I Have A Limit?

Some payment processors give you limits on how much your business can process. This can certainly cause some problems, especially if you did not know this beforehand. Your customers may not be too happy with the limits either. This is why it is important to ask questions before making a final decision on a payment processor.

Payment Processing

There are different fees and rates depending on how a payment method is entered. What kind of rates or fees will you be charged with if a specific credit/debit card is swiped? What about keying in manually? If you accept a payment method over the phone, fraudulent activity is possible. Since there could be a possibility of fraud, the fees for processing can go up. When using payment methods online, there is also a risk of fraud. In this case, the payment processing fee will go up as well. For these reasons, you will want to make sure you understand what kind of rates you may see.

Finding the right questions to ask different providers of payment processors is a big task. When you ask the right questions and get the answers, you should also try to take a test run. Whatever provider you feel will meet the needs of your business is the one you should go with. Contact us for help in making this big decision.